The Chief Executive of the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly, Solomon Nikoi Kotey, says he remains committed to executing developmental projects in the area.
He said the renovation of the La General Hospital and the La Market Complex projects continue to be his major focus.
The Municipal Chief Executive, who was speaking at the first ordinary meeting of the third assembly, said the projects would soon be completed to bring relief to residents.
Regarding the La General Hospital, he stated in his address that President Akufo-Addo is yet to cut the sod for the commencement of the renovation works.
“I’m happy to announce that La has been selected to benefit from a number of hospital projects government is constructing across the country to enhance healthcare delivery. I’m again happy to announce that we’re expecting His Excellency, the President to soon cut the sod for the redevelopment of the La General Hospital into a prestigious modern hospital complex. Meanwhile, the Assembly, with support from La Mansaano Kpee has found an alternative place for the hospital to continue to provide limited clinical services for the residents of La.”
This is despite the fact that the health facility was closed down in March 2020 for redevelopment works to begin.
It was expected to be completed within 24 months and the cost was estimated at $63 million.
Still, on the subject of health, the MCE listed a number of measures put in place to improve the quality of health in the area.
“Some of the achievements over the years have been zero malaria death of children below 5 years. Also, with the right education, the Municipality did not record any case of cholera for the past two years, courtesy the Health Directorate and the Environmental Sanitation Unit of the Assembly for their extra efforts.”
The La Market Complex project on the other hand, which was awarded in July 2015 and expected to have been completed within 18 months, still remains uncompleted.
Solomon Nikoi Kotey explained why and prayed the gathering to consider and approve the revised sum for the project to continue.
“There have been a lot of structural changes resulting in additional works coupled with upward adjustment in the general prices of materials and labour cost. To this end, the contractor requested for a revision of the contract sum to enable the company to deliver standard work. My submission in this regard is that the consultant to the project, AESL, Koforidua has revised the contract sum from the initial contract amount of GHS5,445,000 to GHS6,991,685.46, representing a 22 percent increase.”
Now, while admitting that the onset of the coronavirus pandemic had gravely affected the Assembly’s revenue mobilization, the MCE, however, noted that the Assembly had achieved considerable progress, regardless.
“This year, an amount of GHS9,311,498 has been earmarked to be collected from internally generated sources. As at 30th April 2020 an amount of GHS2,616,279.46 has been mobilized, representing 28% of the total amount estimated. When we compare the performance with the last year, as at April, 2019, 22% of that year’s estimated revenue had been collected, showing a comparative rise in performance, even amidst COVID-19 pandemic challenges.”
In addition to this, the MCE for the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly touted significant gains in the areas of water and sanitation, particularly the construction of “17 institutional toilets for 13 basic schools of which 10 have been completed and 7 are nearing completion. Also, over 1,100 household toilets had been constructed in the household toilet component” of the World Bank’s Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project.